Sunday Morning.

On this Sunday, the Memorial Day Eve so to speak, Patry Francis is back with one of her personal short stories that are so powerful the reach into your soul...Do yourself a favor and go read the whole thing.

THE LAST LETTER: A Short True Story

Signs of Human 4, originally uploaded by zachstern.

When I entered high school, there was a war going on. Every night the local paper printed the addresses of soldiers who wanted to get mail. I wrote to every name on the list, and used my babysitting money to send them small gifts.

Source: SIMPLY WAIT: THE LAST LETTER: A Short True Story

Fred First has posted the first part of a piece on patriotism. I find myself in agreement with most of what he has posited in this piece. The only addition I would make to his comments is in adding a "higher ideals" component to the definition. To me, one of the biggest things this country has had going for it over the years is the notion that we can do better...We expected to be better than we actually were. We held ourselves to a higher standard than we held others. Somewhere in the past few years we quit holding ourselves to those "higher" standards and that's where we are beginning to lose our way. Fred points a way to refind those ideals by rediscovering that tie to place, that tie to home, that tie to country. We will only return to those "higher" ideals when we hold ourselves and those who "lead" us and the companies we allow to sell to us are held to the same "higher" standards.

"We the people" were the words used to found this country. "We the people" have given our lives and our living to making this country strong. "We the people" developed the "ideals" that have led this country through two hundred plus years of wars, disasters and lives. "We the people" will continue to move this country forward, not always well, sometimes with stumbles, sometimes with great arguments, but, always forward if we hold ourselves to the same high ideals our parents and grandparents held themselves.

Go, spend some time with family. Think on those who have sacrificed so much for this great country. Think on those that still sacrifice daily. Give thanks for all of them. Raise your own sights to the higher ideals...Have a great patriotic weekend.